Economic Stagnation and Electoral Discontent in the Rust Belt

Readers of this blog know that I have been describing changes in employment in New York State and the rust belt associated with the loss of manufacturing employment in the nation. The loss of 5,500,000 manufacturing jobs since 1970 has slowed employment growth in the region as a whole. As a result, upstate cities, along […]

The Decline of Manufacturing in New York and the Rust Belt

In a recent post I looked at employment changes in New York’s metropolitan areas and compared their performance with other metropolitan areas in the rust belt. I found that change was inconsistent between cities in each state, and over different time periods. I argued that industry mix probably was the primary cause of the differing […]

Require Full Transparency from “Private” SUNY Non-Profits

An Op-Ed that I wrote in the Albany Times-Union today: The charges against Alain Kaloyeros, the head of SUNY’s Polytechnic Institute, and others by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, if true, reveal a disturbing disregard for the processes put in place to ensure that procurements decisions are made in […]

Government Policies and Job Growth in New York State and the Rust Belt

A recent Washington Post article, “As senator, Clinton promised 200,000 jobs in Upstate New York. Her efforts fell flat.”[1] points out that during Senator Clinton’s tenure between 2001 and 2009, Upstate New York saw job growth of only 0.2%, far from what Clinton claimed could be achieved. While the article neglects to point out that […]

Syracuse’s Empty Film Hub

The New York Times carried an article, “Cuomo’s $15 Million High-Tech Film Studio? It’s a Flop,”[1] on August 22nd. The article points out that the Central New York Hub for Emerging Nano Industries, owned by the Fort Schuyler Management Corporation (FSMC), a non-profit subsidiary of the SUNY Research Foundation, is largely vacant, and has housed […]

Rex Smith’s Albany Times-Union Column, “Development Dollars Draw on Politics”

The Albany Times-Union carried a column by its Editor, Rex Smith on August 6th, concerning decision making by NewYork’s Regional Economic Development Councils, questioning whether their efforts are directed at areas of the state with greatest need. His column may be found here. The column draws on research that I recently published on this site. It […]

Poverty in Upstate Metropolitan Areas – Characteristics and Change: 1999-2013

This is a paper based partly on data previously presented on this blog site. This paper examines the incidence of poverty in upstate New York cities compared to the surrounding suburbs. The data shows that while residents of upstate suburbs enjoy incomes that are substantially higher than the national average and poverty rates that are […]

New York’s Ineffective Business Tax Incentives

In 1987, New York State enacted legislation to create an Economic Development Zones Program, modelled after the enterprise zones concept, championed by Congressman Jack Kemp. Proponents argued that by reducing taxes in specific geographic areas with high concentrations of poverty and unemployment, existing firms would be more likely to create jobs, and other firms would […]

SolarCity: The Risk Embedded in Buffalo’s Billion

.pdf version here: Note: This post is also published on The Empire Center website. The decision by the nation’s largest solar panel provider to locate a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Buffalo, and to create other jobs in Western New York, could be a needed shot in the arm for a city and a region that’s […]

The Shrinking Middle Class in New York State – Cities and Suburbs

Pew Research has been releasing a series of studies showing that the percentage of Americans who have middle class incomes has been declining. The most recent of these is America’s Shrinking Middle Class: A Close Look at Changes Within Metropolitan Areas. The report received extensive coverage in many newspapers, including the New York Times. It concluded that […]